Shanghai Bobby headlines Holy Bull Stakes

By: SPORTS NETWORK

Hallandale Beach, FL (Sports Network) - Champion colt Shanghai Bobby begins his road to the Kentucky Derby on Saturday with the $400,000 Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream Park. The Eclipse Award winning colt will take on nine challengers in the 1 1/16-mile stakes.

Trained by Todd Pletcher, last year's champion 2-year-old colt has drawn the inside post with his regular jockey Rosie Napravnik in the saddle.

Owned by Starlight Racing, Shanghai Bobby is perfect in five starts for $1,687,000, including the Breeders' Cup Juvenile.

Set to break next to Shanghai Bobby is the highly regarded Frac Daddy. Trained by Ken McPeek for Magic City Thoroughbreds, the gray colt will be ridden again by David Cohen.

Frac Daddy finished second in his debut at Belmont Park last October in the mud. He won next time out by better than nine-lengths at Churchill Downs and ended the year as second to Uncaptured in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs.

"That race was an excellent race," McPeek said. "He just got a smidgeon tired. It was only his third race. The other horse was going on six or seven."

The colt has earned $80,116 in his three starts.

Itsmyluckyday, winner of the Gulfstream Park Derby on New Year's Day, will start from post 7 with Elvis Trujillo riding. The colt is owned by Trilogy Stable and Laurie Plesa, with Ed Plesa Jr. training.

"I don't get Derby Fever until at least April," said Plesa following the year opening victory.

Itsmyluckyday, a son of Lawyer Ron, has four wins in eight career starts for $185,600. His two other stakes victories came at Calder in the Fasig-Tipton Dash and Foolish Pleasure Stakes.

In post position order here is the field for the Holy Bull: Shanghai Bobby, Rosie Napravnik; Frac Daddy, David Cohen; Clearly Now, Luis Saez; Bern Identity, Paco Lopez; Sr. Quisqueyano, Joel Rosario; Dewey Square, Corey Lanerie; Itsmyluckyday, Elvis Trujillo; Tulira Castle, Javier Castellano; Fredericksburg, John Velazquez and Joshua's Comprise, Kent Desormeaux.

Post-time will be approximately 5:05 p.m. (ET).